Customer Reviews

The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin: The Complete Series

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I waited for decades, literally, to be able to see the complete series again ... only to find it had been bowdlerized. Shame on them.

What is particularly galling about this censorship, is that the portions removed were making fun of the types of people who would flee a neighborhood just because somebody "different" moved in. Apparently, somebody who had no clue as to what was really going on, saw CJ in blackface and Tom with a turban, and decided that we would be scandalized by seeing it.

Leftist censorship is no better than rightist.

In my opinion, this is the BEST comedy to ever come out of the UK, exceeding Fawlty Towers and all the rest. I bought the video tapes when they were available, and I bought the PAL DVDs when they came out(only being able to play them on my laptop). Now I am torn. Another $50 to own them in NTSC? My wife will kill me (although she also loves the show).

Word of warning: For some people, this show takes a bit of getting used to. Trust me, it is funnier every time you watch it (due, I suppose, to the fact that you begin to anticipate the funny lines). You need to invest a little time getting to know the characters.

I think my favorite scene is in the third season when Reggie goes out looking for C.J. and finds him panhandling on the streets of London. No, wait a minute. I think it is the scene in which Reggie attempts to sack Seamus Finnegan. Oh, I can't decide. You'd better buy the set and figure it out for yourself.

I first saw TFARORP many years ago when the Dallas PBS affiliate KERA imported it, and it is completely on par with "Fawlty Towers" and "Ab Fab" as far as comedic worthiness while breaking through traditional sitcom barriers.

Reginald Perrin (as portrayed by Leonard Rossiter) is a middle-aged, middle manager at a London-area dessert factory who couldn't be more dissatisfied with the banality of day-to-day life. So he comes up with a plan to end it all (without really ending it all).

Rossiter is genius and the rest of the casting couldn't be more spot-on -- these are characters that will stay with you always (and that you'll probably recognize from your own lives).

And if you think "Saturday Night Live" is a catch-phrase factory, wait 'til you catch yourself trying to work the cleverness of Reggie and company into your conversations!

Like "The Office," they tried to "American-ize" this program in 1983; unlike "The Office," it failed. But while "Reginald Perrin" dates back to the 70s, I've seen the first few episodes again quite recently and it holds up superbly as a satire of the working world.

And yet... I'm doing one anyway, based on the television series and NOT the quality of the DVD set (which at this point is unknown). However, we can make some good guesses here and guesses which are at least valuable in deciding whether or not you'll be interested in this.

First of all, this is as English a series as it comes. Absolutely no attempt is made to "Americanize" it, so if you have trouble understanding English accents (and even *I* do at times) or dislike the English sense of humor then stay well aware from this.

Otherwise, this is a *superb* show, equally on par with Fawlty Towers as one of the best the English has to offer. It's sharp satire but not "crazy" in the Monty Python sense. Reginald is a man who gets fed up with the middle class rut he's living in, and fakes his own death to get away from it all -- except he can't get away from it all and no matter how he tries to fail he keeps succeeding even more. It stars the late Leonard Rossiter who is absolutely brilliant in this -- actually, the entire cast is superb.

The show is a hidden treasure -- here in the States there were two VHS tapes released fifteen years ago which covered only the first half of the series (the "fall" of Reginald). Then you could buy a PAL set of this (assuming you had the ability to play it) but that's gone out of stock as well. This NTSC DVD set looks to be the entire show and worth every penny. Buy it today before it goes out of print again!

I've been waiting 'forever' for this to be released on NTSC format DVD!! All I have is my very poor quality VHS taped from PBS years ago, possibly 20 years. I love all the quirky characters and situations on this show, along with the catch phrases. I know many British comedy lovers who have never heard of this show that would really like it. Leonard Rossiter is Brilliant City, Arizona. Rossiter starred in "Rising Damp" after this series; I think the writing for the Reggie Perrin series is much, much better, and the show has a larger cast of talented actors. This is my favorite British comedy show of the 1970s.

This is NOT a complete series. I have an unabridged copy of season three. It is about nine minutes longer than season three on this set. Four of the episodes run under 30 minutes and are complete. Three of them run over 30 minutes, and scenes were cut out to shorten the total time. Some very funny bits have been scrapped. Moreover, the story would have better continuity if the purchase of the neighboring houses were shown.

I have seasons one and two on VHS tape, but haven't compared them to the dvd yet. If memory serves me right, there's another scene with Reggie's cat, which is missing from this set. But I could be wrong. When I find the time, I'll check.

I am relieved. Whenever you get a chance to revisit an old TV series or movie, you hope that it lives up to your fondest recollections. I remember "The Fall and Rise" from the 1970s as one of the most original and funniest things I'd ever seen on TV. Now, thirty years later, it finally arrives on DVD for American viewers, and we have an opportunity to check our realities.

The series is often compared to "Fawlty Towers," but aside from it coming from the same decade of British TV comedy, this comparison isn't fair, really -- "Fawlty" was then and probably still is today the greatest TV comedy series of all time. You could write a PhD dissertation on "Fawlty," and I'd wager someone already has.

The writing isn't quite as sturdy and consistent as "Fawlty," and some of the humor is dated, a bit broader than we might have remembered it, and also particular to British events and individuals of the period. In that respect, the series has not worn as well as "Fawlty." But "Fall and Rise" takes an entirely different approach to its troubled central character. Where "Fawlty" is episodic, "Fall and Rise" was based on a novel, which gives the story a more conventional arc -- a beginning, middle and end, as we all learned in high school English. Without giving too much away to those who haven't seen the series, it's the story that wins us over in the end.

Much has also been said about the comedic genius of Leonard Rossiter, which doesn't need to be repeated. Also no need to compare Rossiter to John Cleese -- they are both stratospheric -- and much of the reason to watch "Fall and Rise" is to see Rossiter at his best, navigating the endless agonies of our hero, Reginald Iolanthe Perrin (initials RIP, which I haven't seen mentioned before).

So I am relieved. This series is still very funny, very original, and essential viewing for any fan of the darker side of British comedy.

Finally! The BBC has brought us hitherto deprived NTSC viewers "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin," one of the most imaginative British comedies of all time (and if this statement be hyperbole, well, Tough City, Arizona!). In addition, the Beeb (May it continue to flourish!) has also provided us with legible subtitles so that we can fully appreciate every benighted word uttered by the inspired Leonard Rossiter and his delightfully daffy supporting cast, which includes a young(ish) Geoffrey Palmer for whom time had not yet gone by entirely.

It is difficult to believe that the series was first launched in 1976, since the theme of man's alienation from the increasing complexities (and banalities) of an industrialized and mercenary society seems as valid today.

The first two years of the series are so brilliant that they merit the five stars that I have given it. However, the criticisms leveled by other reviewers are true: material has indeed been cut from the series; not merely scenes, but whole episodes. I definitely recall what must have been the sequel to the third year (shown on PBS years ago), in which Reggie again does a flit and escapes this time to a small town where no one knows him, and, one-by-one, the usual suspects join him. In this series, as I recall, the catch-phrase "[Whatever] City, Arizona" was caught by every one of the characters, including Geoffrey Palmer, whose deadpan addition of "Arizona" to expressions such as "Panic City" was so funny that similar catch-phrases entered into my own vocabulary, much to the bewilderment of my friends who had not seen the show. As disappointed as I was not to re-experience these episodes, I was nonetheless gratified to know that I had not imagined that something was definitely missing!

The aforementioned criticisms notwithstanding, seasons one and two will leave you laughing beyond the edge of tears. They are so good that they compensate for any shortcomings of omission or commission on the part of the BBC, to whom we should be thankful for bringing us Reggie Perrin in any form.

Well worth the price of laughing gas!

I think someone is reading my mind, I was just looking for "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin" a couple of months ago and was sad to see only a Pal version on DVD and the VHS release long gone. There are so many relevant situations to man's or woman's common downfall of society. Too many people hate there jobs(Ha). This show lets you sit back and laugh at the people you know you see everyday at work. The show has been called dark British Comedy or in American terms heavy on the sarcasm so If your the person in the room that says "I don't get it?" alot, this DVD may not be for you. But if you the kind of person who does get it and is sniggering in the back this series is a can't miss. It's been 25 years since I've last seen the show and it still resonates in my subconscious!

There was a time when American Public Television was called "Educational Television" and a staple of their offering included shows like "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin." (Let's put "Dad's Army, The Good Neighbors" and "Monty Python's Flying Circus" in there, as well.) Like most British situation comedies, it's best to "make friends" with this series by watching an episode, or two, sequentially then reviewing the whole thing to catch what you missed the first time. (a la' "The Big Lewbowski.") Each character is strong and don't be surprised if you find yourself saying things like "I didn't get where I am today by...." or "I'm not a (insert whatever you want here) person." or, even, "A bit of a cockup on the (insert an activity here) front." Then, watch for the blank stares that follow from those that just don't "get it."

You'll find nearly the complete series here, the only scenes missing are those that might be considered racist, using our 21st Century sensitivities. (And also the reason for four stars instead of five).

Get it, let yourself get into the story and the characters but don't expect those you love to "get it" like you do.